Hiyu is a 10’6” version of Harry Bryan’s Fiddlehead design, referred to as a “decked canoe.” Okoume plywood was used throughout the construction. The designer intended the boat to be paddled like a kayak. The builder developed the pedal drive utilizing a 10” primary pulley and two idler pulleys to redirect a v-belt to the bottom of the boat. The belt twists from vertical to horizontal as it approaches a 2” secondary pulley. The final drive is through an old outboard motor gearbox, turned backward so the original propeller shaft is receiving the input, and vice-versa, in order to step up the propeller speed. The drive ratio is 1:11, so 50 rpm pedal speed produces 550 rpm at the propeller which delivers about 5 knots. Reverse is accomplished by pedaling backward. The boat is steered using a joystick that turns the rudder via drag link and bellcrank. The name Hiyu comes from the Chinook jargon and means “plenty, much, lots of something.” Hiyu is a joy to knock around in and runs just like an inboard motorboat, without the stink and noise. She has all the bad features as well, such as she can’t be beached, can’t turn in reverse and the mere sight of weeds fouls the prop.
